Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
December 10, 2012

Judy Forde was the first passenger to use the Super Saver Card.
The Transport Board has gone high tech — or into the era of modernity — with the introduction of bus cards.
The Super Saver Card, which will allow commuters to top up a single card and swipe on buses to deduct the $2 fare to travel, was launched at the Speightstown Bus Terminal by the Minister of Transport John Boyce this evening.
In a terminal bustling with mostly school children in the early evening, Boyce told how the initiative had been in the works for quite some time and he was pleased to see it finally come to fruition.
With the introduction of the card, he said Barbados had now joined the likes of Canada, the UK, the US and other international destinations in the era of such technology.
“We believe this will allow the board to move into a new realm of valued service here in Barbados… I know that this innovation is in keeping with worldwide trends and it is a step which will take the Transport Board into the realm of serious modernity.
“Young people … and older people are more and more accustomed to using this kind of travelling packages when they move around and as we visit international cities we know what obtains,” he said.
“I’m sure if we do a quick analysis of how much it cost to maintain our private vehicle and to pay our taxes related to our private vehicles, then it soon becomes clear that the option of a reliable public transport service is one which is worth pursuing,” he said, adding that Government recognised the value of such.
He then issued a warning to private sector operators to clean up their act as there were still too many complaints against them.
“I would not miss an opportunity like this to call on the private sector vehicle operators to please improve your act. We are still getting too many complaints from commuters about the service that is offered and it is almost … as if with reluctance that they are choosing to use the private sector vehicles. I do not believe it should be like that. I believe this business is big enough, the pie is large enough, as they say, that the Transport Board can have their say and the private service vehicles can play an important, profitable role in complementing this service,” he said.
“So I want to encourage you to fall in line. I want to urge you to desist from breaking the law, either the law of Barbados or the regulations of the Transport Authority by way of the permit issued to you,” he said. (LB)